Jul 27 Conservatives Need To Be Articulate To Win The Health Care Debate

Look up any Democrat political figure's Twitter account. Check out their feed. I am 90% positive you will find an incredibly generic bar graph, illustrating how many Americans will lose their coverage, face increased premiums, and even claiming deaths due to any measure of Obamacare repeal. Republicans argue Obamacare is failing, collapsing, and destroying our world-leading health care system, and Democrats hit back with, "Yeah? Well, if you pass a repeal bill, thousands will die!" In response to this wild accusation, Republicans cower in fear, and immediately begin to backtrack. Perfect. In the face of criticism, just give up and give in. That is the Congressional Way. At least, the Republican Congressional Way.

I think the problem begins with the explanation of conservative principles, pertaining to health care. The Problem? None of the biggest voices on the Congressional right are articulately explaining conservative policy on health care. They have allowed the Democrats to maintain control over the narrative of the health care debate. Once Obamacare became law, and millions of previously uninsured Americans had coverage, this was always going to be an uphill battle for the right. This takes a precise, fundamentally sound message, with the understanding that this will be met with fierce opposition. Democrats believe it is the role of the government to take care of those who, for any reason, do not take care of themselves. That is very broad, but it encompasses the entire shtick on the left. They are the party of "government is the answer." I still believe that a majority of Americans want freedom from government, at their core, but may require adequate education of the facts. This NEEDS to be focused on by Congressional Republicans, if they want to move the debate back toward the center, which will allow for open debate on both sides.

Republicans have the numbers to accomplish a full repeal. They do not have the will, at the moment, which stems from their tremendous fear of being unseated. Senators and House members need to return to their districts, and stump with a unified message detailing exactly how Democrats own the current state of health care. Explain exactly what the ACA claimed it was created to address, and how it has fallen short of each promise, except for exploiting young, healthy, working Americans to pay for the sick, poor, and elderly. In 2008, Democrats across the US were hitting the campaign trail hard, claiming they had an answer for high costs and priced out individuals with pre-existing conditions. High costs have not been addressed, and coverage for individuals with pre-existing conditions was rammed down the industry's throat. This is the message constituents need to hear, The Democrats love to trot out their 8% uninsured rate, compared to the 16% pre-ACA rate. Proper context is important, so that people understand how the uninsured rate is so low, and what problems the ACA addresses... or doesn't.

After railing on the Democrats for their failure, turn to the conservative answer. Explain that health care is not a human right, but a service which should be purchased, per an individual's ability to pay. The system should be free of overarching government regulation, which discourages small businesses, stifling competition. This is basic free market economic theory, which should be applied here. The plans offered by insurance providers will not be cookie cutter, "cover all" plans, rather they will vary depending on an individual's needs. This can drastically affect prices (think of auto insurance). The pre-existing conditions problem has been tremendously overblown. The reality is that most people with pre-existing conditions are currently covered via plans, which already covered them before Obamacare was passed. Overall, as previously stated, 16% of the US population was uninsured prior to the ACA, which would most likely represent the percentage post-repeal. A market for this segment of the population would need to surface. This would include young and healthy adults, who only want to pay for very routine, preventative care, as well as those who aren't eligible for Medicaid, but can't afford average health care premiums. A transition period would soften the effects of this change, on those who were previously given free or subsidized care. This represents the most fair option, across the board, while still maintaining a focus on providing access to quality affordable insurance coverage.

Their are few conservatives, short of talk-radio hosts and some pundits, who are laying this case out to the American people. This is the message conservatives need to coalesce around, and deliver to their constituents. The sooner this is done, the sooner the Democrats will have to scramble for a new opposing opinion to fight back with.

P.S. While they're distracted with that endeavor, repeal Obamacare, please.